So I've owned my evo for about 1 year now, and I really only have 1 major gripe with it. The problem is it's the first car I've ever driven with this sort of power (370hp, 350tq currently), first all wheel drive vehicle I've ever driven, and the first evo I've ever driven or ridden in. I have no way to know whether this is a problem specific to evo's or just mine in general (or AWD cars, or because of power!).

Car stats:
2006 Evo IX SE
370hp/350tq
Whiteline RCA kit
No other suspension mods yet

The problem is understeer while adding throttle. Seems like the more power I add, the more sever the car starts to track outwards. And when go from adding power to either letting off the throttle or braking it will tighten up (and when braking it'll actually get even tighter!). It's not just a little, it's a lot. To the point where I'm moving the steering wheel about 5 degrees to compensate for the direction change. It also upsets the stability of the car, which scares me. If I push too hard and make any mistake, it feels like it's going to spin. Things like decreasing radius turns make me worry, and so I won't push it.

Now I do understand that understeer seems to be a natural problem with this car, but to this degree? I mean, I feel like I'm making a huge change in steering input to compensate for this change in direction. If I hold steady throttle with no in/decreases, it's fine.

One thing I have noticed is that with my alignment going from -1 to -2 in the front, it has gotten a little bit better, but still feels like a long way to go... Initially I thought that maybe with the way the car rolls in the front that the camber was actually going positive, so I went and bought the Whiteline RCA kit. Doesn't seem to have helped a whole lot though.

Any ideas? This normal? I don't want to go buying parts attempting to fix it if there really is an underlying problem I need to fix. But if this IS normal, it'll make me much more confident in picking up new suspension parts to combat this.

SOEX

 

What tires do you have on it at what pressures? You can try messing around with tire pressures to get oversteer to happen more than understeer. I have never been in an Evo with over 300 whp that I couldn't get to oversteer with the throttle... I'm very shocked. And I've driven a lot of different Evos on track and off. Only thing I can think of is your tires and tire pressures. How much other racing experience have you had in any other car (and what kinds of cars)? You could just be driving it improperly. No offense to you, but I overdrove my Evo like crazy too, it pushed, but it wasn't an understeer or oversteer, just a neutral push. Try changing up your driving style, the Evo is SUPER forgiving, which is why it is so fast, but also one of it's major downfalls: it's too easy to drive!

 

You have to be smooooooth on the gas pedal with all that power (all your inputs really). As you add throttle in a corner, your front tires have to deal with the cornering forces AND the acceleration. When you ask too much from them, they start giving up. So you can use 100% of your total grip on cornering, or 50% on cornering and 50% on acceleration, or 25/75 etc. Same with braking and cornering. Sometimes adding steering can lead to more understeer.

Pretend you've got a salad bowl on your dash with a ball in it. You want to walk the ball around the edge of the bowl without it falling out. Watch the weight shift around and see when the front has more grip. Being smooth and controlling your available grip go hand in hand.

Smooth is fast.

That and a better suspension.

- Andrew

 

So I'm not a wonderful driver, I know that. I've come from a Honda, Jeep CJ7, and a CBR600f3, so I've got absolutely no experience with racing or driving 4 wheels really fast.

But this seems extreme. I'm not breaking traction at all, this can happen even with mild throttle addition in a mild turn (conservatively driving). Once I add throttle (or any change in speed really) the car will track outward and push. It literally changes the line I'm driving if I don't add steering input to compensate for it.

I feel like I have noticed it more when adding power, but it was there even when the thing was bone stock... The car completely changes stance when in the throttle.

I do agree that being super smooth on the throttle makes a huge difference as it doesn't upset the car, but I can't get over that I just feel like something is wrong in the first place.

I failed to mention that I did buy the car used, it was semi beat up, but going through the suspension with my mechanics and looking at everything that should count, there isn't anything that sticks out as wrong.

I'll check my tire pressure again, but we did check that when we were trying to figure out why this would happen. As I remember they were around 32psi all around, nothing too wild.

Tires are Goodyear Eagle F1 all seasons, about 8 months old or so. Holding up fine still (as I really don't push the car all that often, it's my DD).

SOEX

 

32 psi all around... Try changing it up. Also, good (even half-good) coilovers will solve your problem and then some for sure.

It is really hard to decide what the problem is without being there... There could be something wrong, or you could just be over driving the car (as I have found many Evo owners do who are new to racing, I did), or just plain driving it wrong.

 

I do appreciate the help UT.

I'm tempted to say that it's not me over driving the car. I did when I first got it, but I quickly learned slow in fast out was the most effective way to handle the corners. But it certainly could be that I'm just not driving the car correctly in some corners.

As I mentioned before, the weird thing is that this will happen on a light curve even when I'm going slow. During the curve, if I accellerate, my line will change to the point where I have to change steering input to compensate. And I'm no where near 100% grip. And if I let off the gas and go to the brake in said turn then it'll change the line to the super tight side. It seems to affect me most in decreasing radius turns. Where if I start out with power and have to slow during the turn, the car wants to spin as it tightens up significantly.

I do somewhat wonder if it's do to the suspension compression leading to a loss of negative camber angle and therefore causing the angle of my turn to change. Sort of the same principal of initiating a lean on a motorcycle.

Anyway, my next step is to think about coil overs and possibly some thicker sways to compensate for that roll.

 

Does it want to spin? or is it pushing? Oversteer and understeer are two totally different things. Are your front tires losing traction? Or rear tires? You shouldn't spin if it is your front tires.

 

It's pushing when power is applied. And not even to the point of breaking traction, it just starts to change my line where I'm turning and have to turn more to keep going the same direction. Keep in mind I have not started to slide here, it's really not even too close to the limits.

The time it wants to spin is if I take my foot off the throttle for a decreasing radius turn. Say I go from med throttle to no throttle during a turn like that, it'll completely change my direction and feel like I'm going to spin. It almost twists the car it feels like. But I would say it's definitely not initiated from the back end. It feels like it's the front of the car that is causing the unbalance.

So hard to describe, but would be so easy to demonstrate.

 

I run the same DD tires with eh about the same whp (340ish). I run 34 psi front and 36 psi rear.

I agree, you have to remember that tires can only do one thing at a time. They can brake, they can accelerate, they can turn. If you try to mix those too much then you can upset them. I.e. hard braking + turning, accelerating + turning = pushing/spinning.

The stock form Evo does push. And like what Andrew mention, smooth smooth smooth. If you have a huge weight transfer (left to right, front to back, etc.) then it can react the same way.

 

Get your alignment checked, if it's really doing it under light throttle/braking. Make sure all your tires are the same size (!! I've seen that problem before).

If those are ok, its probably just that it drives differently from what you're used to.

 

Do you have lowering springs on the car? When i put them on my car i had the same reaction, Some good coilovers should solve the problem.

 

That really depends on the springs. I do not have that issue on Swifts, if anything, I have slight oversteer.

That is not the point to this thread. I think its more of a driver learning event.

 

Ok so, The OP is on stock suspension besides the Whiteline RCA kit right???? *facepalm* Ok so lowering springs are not likely to be the culprit. Tires Do not seem to be the problem either. Power doesnt seem to be an issue. I am not trying to sound like an *** here BUT the only other thing it could possibly be is driver error. Im not saying that you don't know how to drive, just AWD is a different driving experience and can have people fooled into thinking there is something wrong with the car when it is actually them. I don't want you being swayed by some of the misguided information in this thread.. Andrew(GTWorx), GTLocke13 And Mike (smikeevo) have given some of the best info and help so far. Take heed to what they say and step back and reevaluate everything. Look at your driving style more objectively, look at how you are entering the turns. Reevaluate your lines, everything. Its not just you, alot of people "overdrive" the Evo and many other cars for that matter as was stated earlier. Its easy to do. Any car can and will be over driven, it is up to the driver to figure out how and what to change about his/her driving style and on the car. The driver and is always going to be the easiest and best modification that you can get for your car. Bar none.

 

OP, have you checked your rear roll bar. It may be oversized. that might account for your, lift, light rear end. Typically a lift loose rear end comes from some changes from stock.

 

^The OP doesn't have aftermarket sways. The only suspension upgrade is the whiteline Roll Center Adjustment Kit.